The present invention relates to a filter and an air cleaner which are capable of inhibiting development of cancer.
Conventionally, various theories have been presented on cancer development mechanisms, and various prescriptions for inhibiting canceration caused based on these development mechanisms have also been proposed.
For example, as for cancer development mechanisms, there is a theory that canceration of normal cells is caused through the following four stages: a first stage (initiation stage) in which mutations occur in normal cells due to ingestion of carcinogens; a second stage (promotion stage) in which mutant cells become immortalized cells; a third stage (conversion stage) in which the immortalized cells are converted into cancer cells; and a fourth stage (progression stage) in which the cancer cells cannot be eliminated by immune function and the growth of the cancer cells occurs. As a prescription for inhibiting canceration based on this theory, there has been proposed a prescription that inhibits ingestion of carcinogens in particular in the first stage or the second stage, while suggesting ingestion of substances having carcinogenesis promoter inhibiting activities such as essences of Rosaceae plants, Amygdalus plants, Prunus plants or Armeniaca plants, and amygdalin, prunasin, amygdalic acid, glucopyranosiloxy-phenylacetic acid, phenyl-b-D-gentiobioside or phenyl-b-D-glucopyranoside extracted/refined therefrom (see Patent Document 1, for example).
Alternatively, a prescription for preventing or delaying development of cancer by administering a free radical generating agent has also been proposed (see Patent Document 2, for example).
Patent Document 1 is a Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-113088.
Patent Document 2 is a Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2005-529938.